Sonia meets with Pranab to 'troubleshoot' Pakistan tensions

Concerned about the BJP-led Opposition's attack against her party over the LoC killings, UPA chairperson and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Friday afternoon met President Pranab Mukherjee seeking his tips on how to defuse the continuing tension between India and Pakistan.

Sonia, according to sources, had a one-and-a-half-hour luncheon with the President.

"Sonia discussed a number of issues of national importance. She meets the President regularly. I can't comment on what transpired between the two leaders," a source privy to the meeting told Mail Today.

Pranab, known for his tough stance against Pakistan, had said one's "patience has limits" in his speech on the eve of Independence Day.

He, as the external affairs minister, had in 2008 also sent out a strong message to Islamabad following the Mumbai terror attacks.

Sonia, who is worried about the prospects of the Congress in the upcoming elections, is believed to have expressed her growing concerns to the President over the deteriorating situation at the Line of Control.

Top Congress leaders say the party has been advocating a tough approach towards Pakistan at this juncture and is also examining the proposed Manmohan Singh-Nawaz Sharif meeting in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

In fact, Islamabad has not been communicated a formal approval for the meeting at the insistence of the party. It's believed that Sonia was not happy about the timid appraoch adopted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh towards Pakistan in his Red Fort speech.

Sources said the PM's speech had not gone down well with the Congress leadership. It is learnt that it was at the insistence of the Congress that the government quickly moved to pass a resolution in both Houses of Parliament in reaction to the resolution against India passed by Pakistan in its parliament.

The Congress president and Pranab also discussed how to clear the logjam in Parliament and possible solutions to navigate Bills such as the food security bill.

They also discussed the Telangana tangle. The President continues to be a troubleshooter for the government.

Many top leaders, including the Congress chief's political advisor Ahmed Patel, keep in touch with him regularly at Rashtrapati Bhawan. Last month, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi also had an extended meeting with Pranab.